Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday that
Israel has no intention of carrying out an offensive against Lebanon, speaking
hours after a minister in his cabinet said that a military conflict between
Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah was �inevitable.�

�The State of Israel is not looking for any kind of
confrontation with Lebanon,� Netanyahu said in a statement released by his
office, adding, �Israel seeks peace with all of its neighbors.�

Minister without portfolio Yossi Peled said earlier Saturday
that �we can�t sleep easy� in regard to Israel�s shared border with Lebanon. He
emphasized that �we�re in for another round in the north, but I don�t know
when,� with the first round being the 34 days of fighting between Israel and
Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

�Israel�s main goal is to ensure the posterity of the Jewish
state,� Peled said.

Speaking at a cultural function in the southern city of Be�er
Sheva, the Likud minister said that �If a conflict does erupt in the North we
will hold both Lebanon and Syria responsible.�

�The world had failed in its dealing with Hezbollah, allowing
the organization to accumulate more weapons that he had in his possession in
2006,� Peled said, referring to the Second Lebanon War, adding that while he
agreed the war had been a military failure for Israel it �could not be pinned on
any one man.�

�Lebanon is the only country in the world which has a
military organization, Hezbollah, that operates independently of the government
and is supported by two foreign countries, while being part of the cabinet,� the
Likud minister added, referring to the Lebanese militia�s backing from Iran and
Syria.

The United Nations envoy to Lebanon, Michael Williams, was
set to visit Israel on Sunday, and meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny
Ayalon and senior Israeli intelligence and military officials. The meetings were
to center around discussions between Israel and the UN on Israel�s possible
withdrawal from the divided town of Ghajar, situated on the border between
Israel and Lebanon.

Ayalon was also expected to broach the subject of Israel�s
concern over violations of UN resolution 1701, which effectively ended the
Second Lebanon War, which forbids Hezbollah from arming itself in southern
Lebanon. Israel is especially concerned over the smuggling of weapons from Syria
into southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah criticizes French FM comments condemning the
militant group

Hezbollah on Saturday criticized French Foreign Minister
Bernard Kouchner over his recent comments condemning the group and linking it to
Iran.

�Israel is our friend, and if there was a threat to Lebanon,
it will only come from a military adventure carried out by Hezbollah in the best
interest of Iran,� Kouchner reportedly told the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad
Hariri during a visit to Paris on Friday.

�Kouchner�s statement carried clear echoes for the Israeli
voice and a full denial for France�s history and its legacy in resisting
aggression and occupation,� said a statement by Hezbollah.

�This stance is an attempt to acquit Israel and to cover up
its relentless violations of Lebanese sovereignty, the thing which represents a
shield for its occupation and an encouragement for it to pursue its
aggressions,� Hezbollah said.

The statement refers to Israeli violations of Lebanese
airspace, in breach of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006
war between Israel and Lebanon.

The UN Security Council has listed 388 Israeli airspace
violations on behalf of Israel against Lebanon, in its report last June.

Israel has said that it will hold the Lebanese government
responsible for any violations by Hezbollah of UN Security Council resolution
1701.

Barak reiterated that should Hezbollah carry out any attacks,
Israel would retaliate against not just Hezbollah, but Lebanon and anyone else
who helps Hezbollah.

Syria and Lebanon on high alert

Meanwhile, Syria and Hezbollah are on high alert in
anticipation of an Israeli attack on Lebanon, the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat
daily reported on Friday.

According to the report, Hezbollah has been monitoring with
caution the reinforcement of IDF troops along the Lebanon border.

Hezbollah�s deputy secretary general, Naeem Kassem, said the
group was preparing to retaliate although it had no proof of any such Israeli
plans.

Late last year, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi warned
Hezbollah guerrillas possess tens of thousands of rockets, some capable of
reaching up to 300 kilometers within Israel.

These capabilities would put Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as well
cities much further south, into rocket range.

�There is a war in the Middle East between two camps, the
extreme and the moderate, which is pushing Iran to take radical steps. Without
Iran�s support to finance weapons and terror groups they would be lacking the
means available to them today,� said Ashkenazi.